On Friday, Monroe High School’s LAUNCH students delivered their final presentations for their eight new projects for trimester 2. Students dressed for success and presented to their business mentors, school administrators, school board members, teachers and their peers. This public speaking experience was just one of the unique experiences LAUNCH provides to allow students to cultivate professional skills. Skills learned in LAUNCH, such as understanding expectations, time management and working as a team, are critical to providing our students a competitive advantage in their professional careers.
LAUNCH is a new, year-long class where students use the knowledge and skills they are learning in the classroom to solve real world problems proposed by local businesses and organizations. Each trimester, LAUNCH students are assigned to a new team of 3-4 students to tackle an important problem, working with a mentor from the business that proposed the project.
SECOND TRIMESTER PROJECTS
This school year began with two topic areas (known as Strands). Our 2022-2023 Strands include Business Analytics and Media Solutions.
Business Analytics students receive classroom instruction in Statistics and Business Management to develop skills in capturing and analyzing data to inform decision making. Nine LAUNCH students worked in teams to complete three Business Analytics projects second trimester. They included:
SSM Health Monroe Hospital
Analyze patient experience data within SSM Health Monroe Hospital and recommend solutions to improve patient experience.
Monson Septic Pumping & Portable Restrooms
Study and make recommendations on how inventory utilization affects purchasing decisions to meet demand during peak season.
Colony Brands Country Door
Analyze data and identify opportunities to increase the Country Door conversion rate from 3.2 to 4 percent. (Increase the number of actual purchases by online shoppers.)
Media Solutions receive instruction in Writing, Social Media for Business, and Graphic Design to develop skills in design, photography, videography, audio, social media, and web design. Nineteen LAUNCH students worked in teams to complete five Media Solutions projects second trimester. They included:
United Way of Green County
Leverage social media to promote the new website,
Impact Green County, which connects volunteers with volunteer opportunities.
Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Monroe, Inc.
Research, develop solutions, and implement ways to increase the number of donations from the website and boost social media engagement.
Fowler Dental Clinic
Increase Fowler Dental Clinic outreach to the community by upgrading the website and developing a social media strategy to inform the public of clinic services and new team members.
Monroe Kiwanis
Design and promote an activity that will allow Kiwanis members to give back to the community while helping them gain more members from a younger age group.
A1 Electric (Precision Drive & Control)
Research, develop and generate content that reaches the intended demographic, to increase engagement with the A1 Electric social media pages.
Stay Tuned
Stay tuned for news about eight new projects students are addressing for third trimester. Newly formed student teams are working with Aging & Disability Resource Center of Green County, Aster Assisted Living, Colony Brands, Green County Family YMCA, Main Street Monroe, Monroe Truck Equipment, and the Southwest Wisconsin Behavioral Health Partnership.
LAUNCH is an example of how businesses and our school can work together to solve problems. It provides students with the opportunity to learn about local businesses and organizations and helps them identify and learn the skills they need to be successful.
— If your business or organization would like to submit a project for LAUNCH students to solve, please contact Cara Carper at caracarper@monroe.k12.wi.us or (608) 328-7573.
